New Construction & Builder Incentive Guide
Q: Is the builder's on-site rep working for you? Here's what a broker who's negotiated these contracts for decades wants you to know before your first site visit.
Broker of Record
keithjonesrealtor.com
Duval, Clay & St. Johns Counties
What I Check First
CDD Status & Incentive Sheet, In Writing
Before You Sign a Reservation
Credentials
Broker/Owner, ABR, MRP
30 Years Negotiating Contracts
Q: The builder's rep seems helpful. What's the catch?
A: No catch, exactly — but understand who signs their paycheck. The on-site rep represents the builder in the transaction, full stop, no matter how friendly the conversation feels in the model home. That's not a criticism of the rep; it's just the structure of the deal. What it means for you is that lot selection, structural options, inspection rights, and any rate buydown or closing-cost incentive are all negotiated points, not fixed terms, and nobody on the builder's side is going to volunteer that to you. I teach newer agents this exact lesson: unbundled buyer representation on new construction costs the buyer nothing extra, because the builder has already built the commission into the price, whether you use an agent or not.
My rule with clients is simple — bring me to the very first visit, before you've registered with a sales rep under your own name at the community. Once you've walked in solo and given your information, some builders treat that as your having "found" the community without representation, and it can complicate whether I can still represent you there.
Q: What's the single most expensive question buyers forget to ask?
A: Whether the community carries a Community Development District bond, and if so, how much of it is still outstanding. A CDD assessment finances roads, amenities, and infrastructure through bonds repaid over decades, and it rides on the property tax bill on top of any HOA dues — separate from the incentive the builder is dangling on the sales price. I've seen buyers focus entirely on a rate buydown worth a few thousand dollars while ignoring a CDD obligation that will outlast their mortgage. Ask for the current assessment on the specific lot, in writing, and compare the all-in monthly number against a comparable NO-CDD community before you decide the incentive makes the deal better.
For an investor client, that math matters even more — a CDD payment is a fixed carrying cost you can't negotiate away after closing, so it belongs in the rent-versus-cost analysis from day one, not as an afterthought once the loan is already approved.
Q: Do builder incentives ever actually change month to month?
A: Yes, regularly, and that's exactly why I tell clients not to trust a printout from three weeks ago. Builders adjust rate buydowns, design-center credits, and closing-cost contributions based on their own sales pace and corporate targets, sometimes weekly at the community level. The number on today's incentive sheet may not be there next week, in either direction. I get the current sheet in writing at every visit and compare the full price with incentives applied — not the sticker price and the incentive as two separate wins — because builders are very good at making a discount look larger than what it changes in your actual monthly payment.
If you're weighing new construction against a resale that needs work, or you've got a resale to sell first before you can close on new construction, that timing question is worth a direct conversation. Call me at (904) 554-8560 before you put down a reservation deposit.
Q: Does it make sense to buy new construction right now, given where the market is?
A: It depends more on the specific community than on the county-wide numbers, but the county numbers still tell you something useful going in. As of the June 2026 data release, Duval County's median list price sits at $308,950 with 3,809 active listings and a median days on market of 57; Clay County runs a median list of $360,000 with 913 active listings and 55 days on market; St. Johns — where a large share of the new-construction inventory in this region actually sits — has a median list of $539,000, 2,347 active listings, and 61 days on market. Price-cut share is running 22 to 26 percent across all three counties right now, which tells you resale sellers are under some pressure to negotiate.
That resale pressure is exactly the leverage a new-construction buyer should use. If a builder knows resale comps nearby are sitting 55 to 61 days and taking price cuts close to a quarter of the time, that builder has a harder time holding a firm price on a comparable new unit — which is precisely why the incentive sheet moves as often as it does. I use the resale data in the immediate area as a negotiating anchor when I'm sitting across from a builder's rep, not just as background information.
Q: How does a CDD assessment actually show up on a monthly payment, in real terms?
A: As a fixed annual number added to the tax bill, financed like a second mortgage on the infrastructure itself. In the communities I work across Duval, Clay, and St. Johns, CDD assessments typically run somewhere set by the district’s bond schedule, financing thirty-year infrastructure debt for roads, amenities, and utilities — and that range is separate from and in addition to any HOA dues charged by the community association. Divide that annual number by twelve and compare it against the rate-buydown or credit the builder is offering; sometimes the incentive more than offsets the assessment over a few years, and sometimes it doesn't come close, and the only way to know is to run both numbers side by side rather than evaluate them separately.
I don't quote a single number for every community, because the range moves by community and by phase — an older phase further along in retiring its bond carries a different number than a brand-new phase just starting its thirty-year clock. I pull the actual current assessment for the specific lot before a client makes a decision, every time, rather than let a buyer assume the low end of the range applies to their situation.
Touring new construction in Duval, Clay or St. Johns County?
Bring me to your first visit before you register on your own — it costs you nothing and protects your negotiating position. CDD assessments repay community infrastructure bonds over decades and appear on the tax bill on top of HOA dues; the amount differs by community and phase, so I pull the actual figure for the lot you're considering rather than quote a range that may not apply.
Q: Does having my own agent on new construction cost me anything extra?
A: In the overwhelming majority of cases, no — the builder has already built representation into the price structure. What it costs you is skipping it: no one negotiating your lot premium, your inspection rights, or comparing the incentive sheet against the total price on your behalf.
Q: How do I know if a community's CDD debt is close to being paid off?
A: I request the CDD's assessment schedule for the specific lot, which shows the remaining term. A community further along in retiring its bond is a meaningfully different carrying-cost picture than one just starting a thirty-year assessment.
Q: I need to sell my current home before I can close on a new build — can that be coordinated?
A: Often, yes, with the right contingency language and an honest conversation with the builder up front. If your existing home sale is complicated — behind on payments, tight equity, anything short-sale adjacent — tell me that on day one so we build the new-construction timeline around a realistic sale date, not a hopeful one.
Q: What's the typical range for a CDD assessment in these communities?
A: In the communities I work, CDD assessments vary by community and phase, financing thirty-year infrastructure debt, separate from HOA dues. I pull the actual figure for the specific lot rather than quote the range, since it varies by community and phase.
Q: Should resale market conditions affect how I negotiate on a new build?
A: Yes — with resale price-cut shares running 22 to 26 percent across Duval, Clay and St. Johns as of the June 2026 data release, nearby resale comps give a builder's rep less room to hold firm on price, and I use that leverage directly in negotiations.